Always Waiting
by shriekingdaisy
Summary: I had no idea that i was going to end this fic the way I did...it is a T/P so don't read it if you don't like the couple, comeon! well, please R&R...thank you much
1. Two Souls Dancing Idly

disclaimer: i don't own dbz, although i wish i did, that would be cool. but i am not making any profit at all (TRUST ME). so enjoy my story (i hope!) and plllleaaase review. i don't care if it is a good or bad review, they help me know what i am doing right and what i need to work on! and because of the [9] reviews that i have read so far, i am going to finish it. yay. okay. hope it doesn't end up like a book! ohh, and the ages are really weird, so don't be a butt and worry about the ages. shriekingdaisy (emily)  
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come on fanfiction.net! get the edit/upload chapters up!  
  
  
Chapter One  
Two Souls Dancing Idly  
  
The wind casually danced in her hair as she stepped out of the house, squinting her eyes in the bright sunlight. She sighed sadly. Nothing seemed to be going the way that she wanted it to anymore. It was like her entire world was crashing down around her and there was no escape. She made her way down the house's cement sidewalk, and into the woods. They were like a sanctuary to her. If she ever just wanted to think, with no outside interruption, she would come here. The trees seemed to protect her, giving her a sense of security, like nothing wrong was really happening.  
  
The whole problem seemed to center around one person. He was the most amazing, beautiful person she had ever met. Making it easy for her to fall in love with him. But unfortunately, he was also the most arrogant, stubborn man she had ever met. With the exception of his father.   
  
He was Trunks. The one and only. The perfect. Even in her childhood, she had known that she loved him. That she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. The trouble was...getting him to realize that. She had once tried...but he had mocked her, and treated her like an infant. She couldn't handle that, so she had tried to avoid him recently, but it was hard, his family living next to hers and all. But it felt like the only way she could escape feeling what she felt for him.  
  
That was probably what was hurting her the most. She just didn't realize it at the time. Not seeing him killed her. Just the thought of never hearing him again wounded her unbelievably deeply. She didn't think that she could go on without him any longer. But she would try. All her life, never ONCE had he done anything to even suggest feelings of any kind towards her, well, besides a brotherly kinship. She was like a little sister to him, even thought she had recently turned 19, and should no longer be considered little.  
  
She settled down in her most beloved place in all of the woods. It was in the crook of what looked like a hundred year old oak tree. The tree seemed to understand her. It was always there for her, and it never objected to listening to her troubles.  
  
"The problem with Trunks is," Pan said aloud, "that he just doesn't care. Doesn't notice me. It is as if I don't even exist to him."  
  
~But I...I am the one avoiding him~ the thought occurred to her. ~He had never purposely avoided me...never. Yet I am sitting here. Angry at him for not paying attention to me when I am the one trying to stay away from him.~  
  
But it hurt, seeing him. And it hurt staying away from him. There was nothing she could do. It would always hurt. There would always be a little Trunks-shaped hole in her heart that she so desperately wanted to be filled, but couldn't be.  
  
She made a resolution. Never again. She would not sit and watch herself become so depressed of something over as little importance as a boy, even if it was Trunks. She would savor the best years of her life, she would live them to their fullest. Her and Bra and Marron and all of her friends. They would have fun. And never again would she feel hurt because Trunks was not meant for her.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
The View of a Heart  
  
"Hey man! You aren't even listening to me!" Goten screamed over the deafening music, gesturing towards Trunks.  
  
"Even if I was I couldn't hear you. This party blows anyway. We should get outta here. And I am sorta getting tired from all of this hopping anyway, man. Can we just go home or something?" Trunks said warily, rubbing the nape of his sore neck.  
  
"Huh?!" Goten yelled, squinting at Trunks. "Maybe we should get out of here, this party isn't that great!"  
  
Trunks laughed, but nodded. They walked out the door into the brisk night air. "Hey, Goten, I think we should head for home now. My old age is catching up with me."  
  
Goten looked at him, shocked. "But the night is still young, my bro! There are still clubs to go to...girls to see...come on! You can't really mean that!"  
  
Trunks looked down at his friend, smiling. He had really meant that. Well, not the old age part, but everything else. "No, I am going to go ahead and go home. I am seriously tired, and I have major work tomorrow. I'll be killed if I miss it. You go wherever you want to."  
  
Goten nodded, but looked slightly down. "Okay, Mr. President. I understand. Your mother is calling you."  
  
Trunks glared at Goten and turned to leave. "My mother has no part in this. I have responsibilities. Capsules don't produce themselves you know."  
  
Goten grunted. "See you."  
  
Trunks took off flying, heading home as quickly as possible. He didn't even really want to go out tonight in the first place. There was something that had been really bugging him, and the whole reason he went was to take his mind off of things. Usually, the girls that swarmed around him, treating him as if he was a god made him feel better. But not tonight. Tonight it just made him feel even worse.  
  
"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself angrily. "Tonight would have been great if I would have just let it be. But no, I have to go and make a big deal out of everything. I had all of those opportunities to get with girls and all I can do it think of Pan..." he stopped. What did he just say?!  
  
~PAN?!~ he thought angrily, clenching his teeth. ~Pan?! Whatever. I can't believe I said that. She means nothing to me. She is just Goten's little sister. I don't even know why I said that! I must be really tired or something. Ha. Pan. That is almost funny.~  
  
The rest of the way to his house he mentally cursed himself for even thinking about her. She was so young, so stupid. Well, not stupid, but not right for him. Not even an option for him. The thought would never cross his mind...would it? She was just a little kid. Besides...he hadn't seen her in about four months!  
  
Once back at his home, he rubbed his sore neck again. After pulling his bed sheets over his head, he stared wide-eyed at the darkness. ~Quit thinking about Pan. Quit it! Anything else at all. Just not her. Not Pan.~ 


	2. Memories of a Time Once Past

Chapter Two  
Memories of a Time Once Passed  
  
Pan sat at her desk, staring at the book in front of her. She had nearly fallen asleep three times, but had to get this work done by tomorrow. She sighed. How could she get the work done? She couldn't quit thinking about Trunks.  
  
~I promised myself I wouldn't do this anymore!~ she thought silently. ~He is nothing to me anymore. Nothing. I haven't seen him for so long.~ It felt like years to her. But she missed him more than she could bear. Slapping herself mentally, she looked back down at the book.  
  
~I remember when he used to baby-sit for me. He was always so nice. He treated me like a friend more than a burden. But he changed....we both changed.~  
  
* * * *  
Perfectly Content  
  
"Alley-op!" Trunks said, lifting Pan up onto his back. "There ya go! A nice view of the park. This is great! Let's go over there to the merry-go-round. I will push you fast. Like you like it."  
  
"But not too fast," she called from his shoulders. He was so strong! And so cute! She looked down at her friend and laughed. This was great!  
  
He set her down. "Last one to the merry-go-round has to push me!" He said, his crystal blue eyes shining.  
  
"Has to push YOU?" she asked. He took off. "Hey! Cheater! Come back here! That isn't fair!"  
  
Later, that sat on a park bench, slightly exhausted from all that they did. "Pan...I think we should go back home now," he sighed, looking up at piercing stars in the vast, dark evening sky.   
  
"NO!" she cried, not wanting the day to end. "Let's just sit on this bench for a little longer, pleaaase? Come on!" Pan tried to convince him.  
  
"Well...okay. But only a little while. It is getting kind of late and your mom..."  
  
"Don't worry, she trusts you. You are almost 17 you know!"  
  
Trunks smiled, looking down at her happily. ~Yeah...I am.~ He thought, noticing the content look on her face. She leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes. ~Seventeen. She is 6!! What am I doing? This is too weird.~  
  
"I had a great day, Trunks," she told him, slipping her tiny hand into his. "It's really been fun."  
  
He shook her hand away. "Well, I think it is about time we go home now. It is way passed the time when your mother told us to be back. You know how she gets..."  
  
"Oh, she'll be fine. We should stay here a little longer, I like it here. Just to two of us." She nuzzled up closer to him and sighed.  
  
"No. We need to go home now. Really, I don't want your mom to be mad at me. Let's go." He pulled her up by her arm and walked quickly. He wasn't going to stay with her any longer. This was just too...  
  
  
* * * *  
  
Pan sighed sadly at the memory of Trunks. ~I wish we were like that again. It was great. Just being friends with him was great...being near him. But I messed that up really quickly!~ she thought bitterly, glancing back down at her unfinished work. ~I have got to see him again. Got to. I can't go on like this! I don't care whatever resolution I made...I just have to see him. Trunks....~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
My Heart to Yours  
  
Trunks glared into the luminous moon. ~Wow. It is beautiful out here. I love this. The cool air. The stars shining like Pan's eyes. CRAP!~ He moaned loudly. That could NOT have just happened. ~I was doing so well not thinking about her!~  
  
He dropped to the grass, staring at the unending sky. ~I really haven't seen her in so long. I just felt like I couldn't after what she had told me. But how, how could a 19 year old really truly feel love?~ He wasn't stupid. So many people mistake lust for love...even sometimes hate for love. It was weird. He remembered how confused he was at that time.  
  
~But she just...seemed so sure. I didn't know what to do. I am 29 years old and I don't even think that I understand love! How could someone that young...?~ He breathed in deeply.  
  
~I had almost been convinced....~  
  
~I just can't bring myself to seeing...~  
  
~I have to see her...~ he sat up, amazed at his new-found insight. ~I have got to see Pan. It has just been too long.~  
  
He didn't know when. Or how. Or where. Or anything. He just had to see her, and soon. He could barely concentrate on anything...work, training, anything. It was like she had invaded his mind recently...and out of nowhere. He hadn't thought about her until the eve of this night. Pan...the name even sounded beautiful. Everything about her sounded beautiful. He had to see her.  



	3. Even Worse

Chapter Three  
Even Worse  
  
Pan sat lazily in her hammock, arms dangling barely touching the soft grass. The sky this time of day was absolutely beautiful. Off in a dream land, she thought of all that had become of her and everyone around her in the last few years.  
  
"Pan!!!" a voice called, jumping her back into reality, and also causing her to loose her precarious balance on the small hammock.  
  
She groaned from the grass, looking up to face her mother, with a phone in hand. "It's for you!" she called to her daughter, smiling.  
  
Pan got up, but warily, and staggered over to the phone. "Who is it?" she asked, half asleep.  
  
"Trunks."  
  
Pan's eyes shot open. ~What!?~ she screamed silently. Outside, she struggled to maintain her composure in front of her mom. "Okay," she told her, rubbing her eyes. "I will take it out here, you can go inside."  
  
"H-hello?" she asked, still in shock.  
  
"Uh...hi, Pan."  
  
There was a moment of silence that seemed to last forever. Her heart beat rapidly. ~What should I say??~ she thought, looking down at her feet.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering...you know...if you wanted to meet up with me sometime soon. You know, it seems like a while since we have been together...well, I mean, not been together, but you know, seen each other or anything. So do you want to? I am off tomorrow and there is a great restaurant kinda close to Capsule Corp...so, you know. Would you do the honor of coming with me? I mean, you know, escorting me...hehe." He bit his lip, ~I sound like a rambling moron!~ "That is, if you want to..." he found himself saying. ~Please, please want to!~  
  
"Well...I don't know. Let me check. I think I am busy," she lied, feeling panicked. ~What am I doing? I want to see him so bad!~  
  
"It's okay if you can't, I just thought it would be fun if...well, you know...we saw each other...how long has it been? Three, four months? I just have missed you."  
  
Pan shot up. ~Missed me?! He has missed me?!~ she did a little dance and sat back down on the step. "I...I don't know. I will call you back?" she asked.  
  
"Uh, well, I am going to be kind of busy for the rest of the day, so I really kind of need an answer now Pan."  
  
"Well," she said. ~YES! YES! YES!~ her mind screamed. "I don't....maybe....no, I don't think so." ~WHAT DID I JUST SAY???!!!~  
  
"Oh. Okay. I understand if you are busy or something. It's okay-"  
  
"Bye Trunks," she sighed, turning her phone off. She said no? What was wrong with her? She had been waiting so long for that moment. No?! How could she have done that to herself. She threw the phone at the side of the house. ~NO?!~ she cursed loudly, looking at what was once a phone. ~My chance. My one and only chance.~   
  
* * * *  
  
Trunks held the phone by his ear, shocked. "She wasn't supposed to say no," he said out loud to no one. Staring at his desk. "There wasn't even anything to say no about! I wasn't asking her out or anything like that! Why would someone say no? I just want to see her! She makes it sound like I am coming onto her or something! For Dende's sake, she's like a sister to me! What is her deal?" he slammed his phone back into the receiver and got up from his desk.  
  
~She is just a stupid child!~ he yelled silently. ~She doesn't know anything. What made me want to see that idiot in the first place? It can't be that she is perfect...~  
  
Trunks screamed and walked out of his office, slamming the door behind him. ~Stupid child! Stupid child! She is....where am I going?~  
  
Trunks looked down from his position in the air, straight at Gohan's house. He groaned, rubbing his temples with his hands. "She probably isn't even there," he said, sensing her ki.  
  
"Man!" he said, looking at the woods. "It is now or never...I just hope she doesn't..." he stopped. His heart was pounding. He could feel it in his chest. "Nervous over a girl....so pathetic." He hung his head, but began to fly toward the woods.  
  
There she was. She was underneath an old, solid oak tree. It had begun to sprinkle. He landed near a tree stump that had been there since he could remember. He sat on it, never taking his eyes off Pan.  
  
She sat, her legs underneath her, crying into her hands. Rain gently fell on her shoulders, but she ignored it. She looked so beautiful and at home there. A few flowers gently swayed in the breeze around her. He didn't want to interrupt this natural beauty. He sighed pleasantly. ~Whoops.~   
  
Pan's head jerked up. Her eyes were wet and her cheeks were puffy. But she still looked beautiful. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.  
  
He smiled inside, but frowned outwardly. "Um...I came to see you. Remember, I called, but you were busy..."  
  
"Of course I remember! But that still doesn't explain why you are here!" Pan stood up and backed away from him a little.  
  
Trunks did the same, but took a few steps toward her. "I told you, I wanted to see you. I haven't seen you forever. We used to be such good friends. Are you scared?" he looked shocked.  
  
"No, of course not," she told him, unaware of the fact that she was still backing up...towards the pond.  
  
"Um...Pan..." Trunks started. Too late.  
  
Pan tried to step a foot back, but only got water, struggling to maintain her balance, she leaned forward, a desperate look on her face. She leaned further forward, putting all her weight on her foot that was covered in mud. She slipped. "Cra-" she started, but ended in the water.  
  
Trunks laughed at the sight, but tried to hide it when she came sputtering out of the water. "Man, I am all wet...just what do you think you are laughing at?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Laughing? I am not laughing..."  
  
Pan glared at him. "Are too. And I am going to give you something to laugh about, mister." She pulled herself out of the water, and ran towards him. Throwing her arms around him, she gave him a sloppy hug and smiled.  
  
"Oh, is that right?" Trunks picked her up and started toward the pond.  
  
"Hey! This isn't fair! That was supposed to be my reveng-" she again, splashed into the water.  
  
A few seconds later, she had not yet come up. "Pan? Pan? Where..." he leaned in, looking into the deep water. A hand grasped his leg. "No..." he said, then found himself beneath the water. Gasping for breath at the surface, he began, "Hey! That was cheap! This is a new suit! I really need-" Pan's eyes were locked onto his. He breathed deeply.  
  
Her black hair was plastered down to her head, and there was grass hanging in front of her eyes. But she was beautiful. He looked into her eyes intently. "Pan-" she put her hands on his cheeks and her nose to his. "I-"  
  
His heart beat rapidly. ~This is Pan. Little Pan. That I babysat for...~ He looked back up into her shining eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in, kissing her gently. Shocked, he pulled away. "I am sorry-" Trunks started. She looked at him, leaning in again. She then pulled away, embarrassed.  
  
"I...I am sorry...I didn't mean to..." she looked up at him, her eyes wide and sparkling. "I...I have to go...I guess, I will see you later..." she pulled herself out of the pond, and began walking out of the forest.   
  
"You know, I didn't fly all this way to kiss you and then leave. We really need to talk."  
  
"I don't see what there is to talk about."  



	4. Love Always Waits

Chapter Four  
Love Always Waits  
  
  
Pulling her sheets over her head, Pan closed her eyes and tried to relax. She never should have done that. ~It wasn't all my fault though. He kissed me back...right? So maybe, maybe he does love me?~ Pan thought about how great it was, to finally kiss him after thirteen years of wanting to. She really did have fun, but she wasn't ready for this. It was like he didn't even really want to, like she had forced him or something.  
  
"Just get him off your mind. Why did he suddenly want to see me again after so long anyway?" she sat up, contemplating the thought. "It has been four months that we haven't seen each other, what would make him want to see me after so long?"  
  
  
Stepping off out of her bed, she walked to the unfinished book on her desk. Sitting in the chair, she twirled her hair through her fingers in thought. ~It was fun though. But I can't believe that...that I kissed him.~ Her heart raced just at the thought of that moment.   
She smiled guiltily and looked at the book. ~That was really fun...I wonder if he will ever want to see me again...~ She frowned at the thought. ~But he kissed me back. And he was the one who wanted to see me in the first place! Oh...it is just that I have loved him for so long...I don't know if I can wait any longer.~ She set her head down on her book and closed her eyes. ~He is just the most amazing person...~   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
Waiting and Waiting...  
  
He walked back to the stump he had sat down on when he first saw her. ~I wonder if she will come back?~ he asked himself, squeezing the water out of his shirt.   
"Why did I have to be so direct? I should have just let it run its course. This little crush thing or whatever it is that I have on Pan will NOT last! I shouldn't have kissed her. I didn't even mean to kiss her. But she just looked so beautiful sitting there wet with pond water, even with the grass on her head..." he sighed. ~Now I am rambling.~   
  
He got up from the stump and gave the pond one last look before he flew back to work. It looked so different now...there was a vague reminder of how it once was. Kind of how he felt. After what happened, he didn't know if he could ever feel the same. He knew he loved Pan. He just wasn't ready to admit it even to himself. Once he was back at his desk, where he felt safe, he buried himself in his work. He didn't want to think about anything that had happened. Not yet. He just wasn't ready. He knew that he had to see Pan again, though. And soon. For some reason, since he had left the woods, he didn't feel complete. It was almost like in that simple kiss, he had given her a part of him.  
  
~What am I thinking?!~ he asked himself silently, staring at his computer. ~I don't need to go all soft like that. For one my dad would kill me...and two...what would everyone else think of me? Goten thinks that I am a lady's man and Marron...well..~ he blushed, thinking about the romance they had the summer before. But it just didn't feel right thinking about it now. It felt like he was betraying Pan...the person who didn't even really want to see him in the first place!  
  
He leaned back in his leather chair and casually propped his feet up on his desk. ~Man, it is not like she really went out of her way to see me. I am the one who came all of the way from the city just to see her! Why did I so suddenly assume that she wanted to see me anyway?~  
He sighed, remembering the almost-hate in her voice when she asked why he was there. It didn't bother him at the time...he thought he had startled her. But now he realized that she had, of course, sensed his ki the whole time anyway! He bit his lip in deep thought. ~So she knew I was there...and she acted...so mad that I was...until...she hugged me...it was like she changed...it was like we were just friends again...but then...I kissed her...and it got weird again...maybe...it is just...maybe...it's my fault.~  
  
He did not want to accept this, but it was the only possible conclusion for what had happened. Pan simply had no feelings for him other that "big brother-little sister." And he had mistaken those feelings to be something more. ~Why did I realize so suddenly that I love her?~  
Love. Whoa. That was a new one. Sure, he had liked...A LOT of girls. And dated them...and all of that...but LOVE. That was just too weird for him. He just didn't know how he could come to that realization so quickly. He sighed, rubbing his temple, which was now formulating into a severe headache. He leaned further back in his chair and thought of the time. It had been so long ago. He was only 24 and Pan had been only 13. She had professed her love to him. And he had laughed at her.  
  
Now he regretted that. They were so far apart in age...almost 12 years. It just didn't seem right...at the time. Now everything in his heart and soul told him how wrong and stupid he had been. He would give anything to erase that moment from time and take it all back. But it was too late now. ~That must be what Pan was remembering today at the pond...she seemed so happy, but changed so suddenly.~ Thinking about the pond, and the running...it all made him remember that day. The day that he felt so stupid for now...but the day that he felt so mature and important for then. The day that he rejected Pan and made her feel like she was nothing. He could never forgive himself for that. He only hoped she would be more forgiving than himself.  
  
* * * *  
  
  
Pan looked up at Trunks happily with deep admiration. She slipped her tiny hand into his and fell in step with him, "Where ya goin?" she asked happily, looking into his shining blue eyes.  
  
"Oh, nowhere really...to the pond." He smiled, but shook Pan's hand away. What was her deal with touching him anyway? ~It's nothing...I am like a big brother to her. But great Dende, she gets on my nerves.~  
  
She seemed sad for a second, then grabbed for his hand again. She stared ahead in deep thought.  
  
"Look Pan, I don't really want you to come with me. I am meeting someone there," Trunks said, less happy now. She was really bothering him. Teenagers. Why were they so touchy feely?  
  
"Oh, come on. If it is Goten you know he won't mind. And that is who it is, right? That is the only person you ever meet at the pond." She let go of his hand and put her arm around his waist.  
  
He stopped walking suddenly, and her arm slipped from behind his waist because she was still walking. "Come on, what's your problem?" She asked him seriously. He had a really stern look on his face.  
  
"Go home. I am not meeting Goten, okay? Just stop bothering me! I am tired of you following me everywhere. I know you look up to me and all of that, but I am still just really tired of being stalked by a second grader!"  
  
"I am not a second grader!" she yelled at him, turning. "And I am not stalking you. And I don't look up to you. And I don't follow you everywhere. You want me to come. Quit lying. You want me to come!" she took in a deep breath, her eyes brimming with tears.  
  
"Pan?! Just go away, okay?! I am meeting a girl there. We are going to go out, I don't some bratty little kid hanging around the whole time! Just go home to your mother!"  
  
"Trunks..." a tear slid down Pan's soft cheek. She looked at him in awe. "But...I...I love you."  
  
Trunks laughed mockingly. "Love? Please!" he shook is head. "Kids these days!" Trunks turned around abruptly and walked the rest of the way to the pond, leaving a disheartened Pan behind, in the middle of the path on the way to the pond.  
  
* * * *  
  
Trunks rubbed his face with his hands in agony. What had he done? How could he reject someone so harshly, and then turn around...to love them? He hated himself. There was absolutely nothing that he could do to save himself now. Pan was a strong willed fighter. She would do anything before she would put her pride at stake. Again.  
  
He sighed deeply and started the long walk to his house. He just didn't feel like flying or driving to his home. He needed to think what to do next. He had started all of this mess, and now he wanted nothing more than to just get out of it. He looked away from to old park as he passed it. It was so ugly now. The monkey bars were rusted. The merry-go-round no longer moved. The trees were dead and created eerie shadows on the cracked pavement. He couldn't bare looking at it.  
  
~I need to see Pan again.~ he told himself again. ~Nothing is going to get solved by avoiding her. We really need to sort this out. If she honestly doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about her, then...she needs to tell me. Enough with all these games. I am sick of crushes and gossip and all of this crap that people like to do and label it with the word love. Love is a deep emotion. The word is just some cliché piece of meaningless...I just have to see her.~  
  
It had to be soon. But not too soon. If he went to her house tonight without telling her first it would result in something like what happened at the pond. Only worse because Gohan would probably kill him. Or at least try. He would call Pan again tomorrow and see if she would meet him somewhere. If she was busy then they would meet the day after that. All he knew was that he had to see her soon because he couldn't stand the wait.  



	5. Enough Waiting!

Chapter Five  
Enough Waiting!  
  
Pan shot up out of bed, suddenly, so much that the bed moved slightly, scrapping the ground. She squinted around her room, in search for what it could have been that had awakened her. Nothing was there. The clock glared 3:32 and Pan moaned quietly. She would never be able to get back to sleep  
  
~What on earth woke me up, anyway?~ she thought, putting on her slippers and tiptoeing down her house's stairs to the living room. ~It's so quiet~ she thought into the darkness, slowly trying to grope her way into the kitchen. ~Of course it is, what kind of person would be walking around blindly at 3 in the morning?~  
  
Feeling the couch with her hands, she navigated around the coffee table she knew was in front of it. But she turned to sharply and her toe made contact with the leg of the table.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow!" she whispered loudly, grabbing her toe and hopping around. "What was mom thinking when she made our living room into a freaking MAZE?!" She slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized that she had been talking way too loudly. ~Dad'll kill me if I wake him up this early.~  
  
Rubbing her sore toe with one hand, she hopped the rest of the way to the kitchen. Once she was there, she switched on the small light above the sink and opened the refrigerator. She got some ham and cheese and made herself a sandwich. She finally sat down at the large round table in the middle of the room and listened to the loudness of the silence. ~Kinda creepy in here at night~ she thought, taking a large bite of her sandwich.  
  
She leaned back in her seat and looked around some more. Everything in the room cast eerie shadows. She didn't really like the feeling of being the only one up, either. She would wake someone, but everyone else had somewhere else to go later in the morning. ~I could call somebody, but who would be up? And why can't I just be like a normal person and go back to sleep?~ But she knew she couldn't and she knew that there wasn't anyone to call.  
  
Pan finished her sandwich and walked back into the dungeon of ultimate pain her family liked to call a living room. Exaggeratedly avoiding the coffee table, Pan walked to the love seat and sat comfortably, pulling a blanket around her. ~What can I do now?~  
  
Suddenly, out of the extreme quiet, the phone screamed. Pan jumped and shot up out of her spot. She began to run toward the kitchen, but once again stubbing her toe on the coffee table. She moaned in pain, but shoved it out of her mind when the phone rang again. ~What IDIOT is calling at this hour?~  
  
Pan hobbled the rest of the way into the kitchen, grabbed the phone off the holder on the wall and growled, "What?!"  
  
"Uh...Pan?" Trunks said.  
  
Trunks? What kind of stupid...she clenched her teeth. "Yes." She sat down at the table and rubbed her throbbing toe. Dead silence. "Is there a reason that you called?"  
  
"I'm really sorry, where you sleeping?"  
  
"Yes," Pan lied. She couldn't help but be rude. If he had woken her father up...errr...what was his problem anyway?  
  
"Well, I need to talk to you. I'm sorry I woke you up."  
  
"It's okay," she lied again, propping her feet up on the table. "What?"  
  
"Well, it is a little early-"  
  
Understatement of the CENTURY.  
  
"-so I just wanted to ask you if we could meet somewhere later today and maybe, you know, talk."  
  
Pan's heart melted. This was Trunks she was talking to. The person that she loved for 13 years was now asking her out, even if it was in the middle of the night. She couldn't be mad at him for that. And he sounded really cute when he was nervous. She knew that she had turned him down before, but she knew she couldn't say no. It was time to quit putting off talking to him and start sorting things out. Like if he felt the same way about her as she did about him.   
  
"Trunks...I don't know," Pan said. ~Oh no, not THIS again."  
  
"Oh, okay, well, I guess-"  
  
"Yes!" Pan bit her lip. ~That was waaaay too loud. But at least I finally said it!~ she thought, beaming with happiness.  
  
"Really?! Yes! I mean, great. Uh..."  
  
"Yes?" Pan asked. He did sound cute, but great Dende he was dumb when he was nervous. "Soo, I guess we should get a place to meet?"  
  
"That is what I was about to say, how funny."  
  
~Haha. That's hilarious. Where!?~  
  
"Uh, you know that place I was telling you about? It is supposed to be really good, I forgot the name, but I will pick you up at 7, okay? In the evening, not in a few hours. Okay, can't wait! Bye!" Trunks hung up the phone, leaving Pan in dead silence once again.  
  
~Oh my gosh, a date with Trunks! Yes! Oh my gosh I have nothing to wear!~ Pan thought frantically, running through the living room.  
  
~Wait a second! What am I thinking???! Haha. What am I going to wear. How dumb is that?~  
  
~I guess I will have to go shopping.~  



	6. A Date With Destiny

Chapter Six  
A Date With Destiny  
  
Bra flopped on Pan's bed, laying back onto a mound of pillows. "So you and Trunks are FINALLY going out, eh?"  
  
"What do you mean finally?" Pan asked, throwing on the outfit that she decided to wear. "Ready!" she said happily.  
  
"You have GOT to be kidding me. There is no way that you are going looking like that."  
  
"What? I look fine. Besides, it is just Trunks, I mean, it isn't like he cares or anything," Pan said, suddenly self conscious. ~Why does Bra always have to make me second guess myself?~ she asked herself, staring into the dark eyes of her friend.  
  
"Well, I guess you are right...it is "just Trunks" you two have known each other your whole lives...why should you go being uncomfortable around him now that you know that he likes you? Why would you want to dress up for someone to make them feel special." Bra looked at her compainion, hoping she took the hint.  
  
"Exactly. Anyway, I am going to be late...oh Bra, I almost don't want to go...you know this is going to change everything, don't you?" Pan looked at the floor, now completely aware of how much one simple date would change the relationships that had been to constant her whole life.  
  
"Oh come on...this is just one little date that everyone knew would happen eventually. I just can't believe it took you two that long to find each other. But I guess I understand how you feel...you have been waiting for this moment for so long...and now it is going to happen. Everything after that is just so unpredicatable."  
  
"Yes. Do you think it is better that way? Nothing in my life is going to be stable forever. If I go...this will change everything that I have ever known. But if I don't...I know that I could never be happy without seeing where the relationship might leave. Great Dende, this is cheesy."  
  
"Yeah, but a lot of things are, we just never like to admit it. You need to go, you are really running behind on schedule." Bra said, glancing at the clock on Pan's nightstand.  
  
"Yeah...I guess I do." Pan twirled her hair between her fingers and stared at her shoes. ~Since when am I nervous about a stupid date!?~   
  
It was time for Pan to face her destiny. ~It must be destiny...how else would everyone predict that it was going to happen? Or did he just love me all this time? Either way...time to face the music.~  
  
*********  
  
Pan found herself outside the resturant in what seemed like only a matter of minutes. ~Breathe...breathe...just Trunks~ she thought as she looked through the window of the small but pleasant resturant.  
  
"Just act completely natural...like you don't even love him anymore..." she stopped. "I don't think that could ever happen..."   
  
Pan pushed the door open and absorbed the atmosphere of the place. It seemed very cozy. There were lots of comfortable looking couches, not perfectly aligned, but not in disarray. There was a mixed smell of coffee and bread and the light scent of people who were mingling quietly.  
  
~How lovely~ she thought to herself. She spotted Trunks suddenly and immediately a self conscious filled her. She checked her appearance in a small mirror that was on a table. ~Natural...~  
  
"Pan! Over here!" Trunks called out.  
  
The quickness of his motion startled Pan, as if she were a deer, and she suddenly got unbelieveably nervous. She began to back away to the door, and before she even realized it she was in a full fledged sprint with Trunks close to her heels.  
  
  
*********  
  
She stopped when she reached the woods near her house, happy that she lost Trunks somewhere on the way. She knew he would be here soon, so she had to think quickly.  
  
~Why? Why am I doing this? Everytime...EVERYTIME we get close I run...I keep saying no...I keep running...why am i doing this to myself? Why am I doing this to him?!~  
  
Pan sat by her tree, abruptly aware of herself. ~I have loved him for so long. All my life it seems and he has never felt the same way about me...now that he does...what is going to happen? Am I ready for this? I am just so used to having the security of being in love without being loved back. It is almost like...we were never meant to be.~  
  
"We were never meant to be..." Pan repeated outloud, seeing how it felt once she had said it. This realization was completely altering her existance...but then again...so would being with Trunks.  
  
"You really feel that way?" Trunks asked, coming from the edge of the woods next to her.  
  
"I-I don't know...I think so at least. It is just that, us together, it is so unimaginable...I mean, I have loved you for so long. But why, why on earth would I be running if we were meant to be together. It is like-"  
  
"Oh, Pannie...quit talking. I think I understand where you are coming from...I am not even sure of my feelings for you...maybe if we just give it some time..."  
  
"Some time..." Pan whispered.  
  
"To see if our love was meant to be...until then, I will always be waiting."  
  
  
__________________________________________  
  
Whoa. I SWEAR I didn't mean to end it like that. I SWEAR. It just kinda flowed from my fingers, haha...I really like T/P, so I really really don't get why I did that, but I guess it kind of fits with the title...some reviews would definately work for me now that I am offically finished. Right now I am working on a Romance/Horror that is a T/P...hopefully this time they will end up together....but they might just die, that sounds fun. j/k REVIEW! 


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